Delegates from 11 countries from Standard Chartered Bank were presented with certificates by City of London Police Commissioner Ian Dyson on Friday 14 October, after completing the Economic Crime Academy’s core investigative techniques programme designed to counter financial crime and equip delegates with the skills, knowledge and ability to combat one of the greatest crime threats causing significant harm and loss across the globe.

The two-week programme was designed as part of a unique partnership between the City of London Police’s Economic Crime Academy - which is a key pillar of the National Policing Lead for Fraud - and Standard Chartered Bank.

Working closely with the bank to meet the challenges of banking-based investigations in the current environment, the Academy designed the curriculum to cover in-depth the investigative skills and strategies needed to effectively tackle financial crime.

The programme is accredited by the Counter Fraud Professional Accreditations Board and delegates will be awarded ‘accredited’ status and gain 40 educational credits.

As well as training members of law enforcement organisations from across the globe, the Economic Crime Academy specialises in developing bespoke programmes for a wide range of financial crime threats which include the specific needs of the financial sector with a footprint in the City of London.

The Core Investigative Techniques Programme is typical of this approach, incorporating Standard Chartered’s policies and practices as well as cutting edge practices directly relevant to their operations.

The delegates that complete the programme will be awarded the status of Accredited Counter Corruption and Fraud Specialist (International), and will be entitled to use the letters ACCFS(I) after their names.

Kathy Hearn, who is the Director of the Economic Crime Academy said:

“This is the second time we have run this course, which has been created and developed in a way that is specifically tailored to the financial sector’s needs. We’ve designed it in such a way that the delegates are in a much stronger position to investigate and prevent financial crime, no matter where they work in the world and regardless of the legislative framework they work under.

“The threat from financial crime and fraud has never been greater with over 5 million fraud and cyber crime offences recorded in the British Crime Survey, with the global threat from financial crime even greater. Now, more than ever, it is vital that companies and organisations in the financial sector train their staff in the very latest techniques to counter fraud and our programme is at the cutting edge of this.”

David Fein, Group General Counsel for Standard Chartered Bank said:

“The Bank is proud to continue its partnership with the City of London Police Economic Crime Academy in delivering a bespoke programme of counter-fraud and counter-corruption training to investigators from across its global footprint. This year’s curriculum has built upon the innovative syllabus delivered as a pilot course in 2015, and focused on the core skills and knowledge required to conduct effective investigations into potential fraud and financial crime. It will give the 25 delegates, who come from 17 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, a grounding in practical techniques which they can apply to investigations conducted worldwide.”